Page 67 of Hate Me

“In exchange for what?”

“That’s where we’re at, is it? Tit for tat? Making deals? You can’t just do it because it’s me asking?”

“No.”

“Not as things currently stand between us, huh?”

“Correct.”

“Fine. What do you want?”

“Stay away from Damien going forward.”

“I second that,” I spoke, finally making my presence known and stepping across the threshold into the living room.

Caleb swung his head my way and his eyes lit up. “Bastian,” he breathed.

He went to move out of the chair to come to me, but he pulled up short, unsure and studying me, trying to gauge where my head was at when it came to him, if I was gonna bring a shitload of animosity and anger toward him like Cas had been doing.

And just like with my interaction with Sky, I’d figured that was how I would respond if I ever saw him again, if he ever deigned to waltz back into our lives. He’d left us.

But looking at him now, seeing the pain all over him, and knowing he’d been so upset and twisted up inside with coming back here that he’d actually gone to my brother… I couldn’t take it there. I couldn’t attack. I couldn’t condemn. I couldn’t do anything but be fucking elated that he was back here with us after all this time.

I couldn’t do anything but miss him.

The next thing I knew, I was striding across the room toward him.

He rose to his feet just before I reached him, and then I was throwing my arms around him, pulling him into me, and breathing him in.

It took him a moment in his startled state at my positive reaction, and he froze for a few seconds, before he then returned my affection and wrapped his arm around me, his other hand coming up and cupping the back of my head, holding me to him so fucking tightly I was surprised either of us could draw in a steady breath.

“Missed you, B,” he choked out. “So fucking much.”

“Missed you too, Cal.”

When we finally pulled apart, Cas walked to me and gently traced his fingers over the raw skin of my throat. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

“Throat’s a little sore, but I’ll be fine.”

“Having a pair of sexy thighs wrapped around your face, especially hers, should’ve made for a hell of a good time. Under different circumstances anyway.”

“Caleb,” Cas ground out.

Cal winked at me. “Got you hard still, didn’t it?”

Cas pulled from me and muttered, “That was a given anyway, he’d just fucked her.”

All humor from Cal vanished. “You did what?”

I scrubbed my hand over my face. “Seeing her again… having all those walls up from her… it got away from me… it was the only way open to connect with her.”

“You shouldn’t have done that while she’s like this,” Cal told me. “Trust me, in that state, poisoned by the dark, there’s just emptiness. And it would’ve messed with her head too, it could make her delve deeper and be more determined to remain shut down.”

Shit. “Well, it’s too fucking late now, isn’t it?”

“Is that what you want, Bastian?” Cas asked me. “To connect with her again?”

I blew out a breath. “While she’s like this, it doesn’t matter either way.”

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